Pilots Didn't See Each Other In 'glades

May 8, 2009|By Ken Kaye Staff Writer

Two small planes collided over the Everglades near Parkland in December 2007 because the pilots failed to see each other, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a "probable cause" report released Thursday.

As a contributing factor, the altimeter on one of the planes fed erroneous altitude information to air traffic control, the board said.

In the minutes prior to the Dec. 8, 2007, accident, a Miami approach controller was directing Duckworth toward Pompano Beach Air Park. Although Alvares was not in radio contact with controllers, his plane had a transponder and was displayed on radar.

At 2:53 p.m., the controller advised Duckworth that another plane was 2 miles away.

As the controller talked with other pilots, an alarm sounded at his radar position, indicating two planes were on a collision course.

At 2:54 p.m., the controller advised Duckworth, "That traffic's passing left to right at 2,200 [feet]."

Immediately after that, the controller heard an unintelligible radio transmission, which cut off.

The two planes converged at about 2,000 feet as the Piper was heading to the east and the Cessna was aiming to the south.

In the aftermath, investigators found the altimeter of the Cessna was off by about 200 feet, as it indicated the plane was at 2,200 feet.